WASHINGTON - The Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Florida) today called for a local, state and federal hate crime investigation of the vandalism and attempted desecration of a mosque in that state, the latest such incident in a recent spike in attacks on Muslim houses of worship nationwide.

According to police in Titusville, Fla., a man entered the carport of the Islamic Society of Central Florida Al-Mumin Mosque on Friday and broke several cameras, lights and windows. The alleged vandal also left bacon by the front door of the mosque. [NOTE: Muslims are prohibited from consuming pork products and bigots often use pigs or pork to offend Muslim sensibilities.]

A police statement said in part: "Surveillance footage shows an unidentified male entered into the mosque carport at approximately 11:00 PM Friday January 1st 2015. The suspect pulled a machete from a bag and used the machete to cause the damage to the mosque."

"The use of pork in an incident of this type is one clear indicator of a possible bias motive for the vandalism," said CAIR-Florida Regional Operations Director Nezar Hamze.

He said CAIR recently called for a similar hate crime investigation after raw bacon was wrapped on door handles of a mosque in Las Vegas, Nev., and welcomed a hate crime probe of a pig's head thrown at a Philadelphia mosque.

Last month, CAIR released a preliminary report on more than 70 incidents targeting American mosques and religious institutions in 2015 that shows a greater frequency of damage, destruction, vandalism, and intimidation than in any other year since CAIR started tracking such cases in 2009.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Further

Prepping for Saturday's protests in D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser went for the grand gesture - and a symbolic middle finger to the racist cowering in the White House - and had "Black Lives Matter" painted in yuge yellow letters on the city's main drag. Bowser's action, aimed at recognizing the thousands in the streets "craving to be heard and to be seen," was criticized by some activists as "performative distraction," but many celebrated it as a vital tribute: "We are saying it loud. We are here."

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